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Off the Map World Tour
Off the Map World Tour, 'commonly referred to as the '''Continuum Tour, '''was the third concert tour by American recording artist Natasha Lewis. It showcased her fourth studio album, Continuum/Interrupted (2014) and visited all continents in the world. A tour to promote the album was announced in May 2014. Lewis felt inspired to create a show with jungle theme which she later mixed with the concept of a plane crash. The setlist was composed mostly by songs from ''Continuum/Interrupted as well as some of her past songs. The tour was divided into five segments: Fasten Seat Belts, Welcome to the Jungle, Metamorphosis, Queen of the Wild, Neon Jungle and the encore. Fasten Seat Belts displayed performances themed around the plane trip and its fall. Welcome to the Jungle continued the story with the stage and dancers themed as a jungle. Metamorphosis displayed darker jungle-themed stage. Queen of the Wild displayed Lewis as the queen with performances focusing her as a goddess. Neon Jungle displayed a black light-themed stage and featured her most electronic songs. The encore consisted of performances of her first hits. The tour received generally favorable reviews from contemporary critics, who praised it for being an entertaining show while criticizing it for looking "more like a spectacle than an actual concert". Off the Map World Tour was commercially successful. According to Billboard, the 71 shows around the world grossed $137 million with 1,211,935 tickets sold. A great number of tickets were sold within a week of the tour's announcement, which prompted supporters to add more dates. The tour also broke attendance records in many cities and all the Europe shows were sold out. The show became iconic due to its DVD release issues, which took four years to happen. '''Background On May 8, 2014, Lewis announced, through her official social media pages, the first US concerts to support her fourth studio album, Continuum/Interrupted (2014). The tour would kick off on October 4 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at Izod Center. On August 12, 2014, four dates were announced in Glasgow, Manchester, London and Birmingham, her first UK dates in three years. After the beginning of the North American leg, Lewis announced new dates for Europe and the first dates for Oceania. The dates for Asia and South America were announced in 2015. It was Lewis first headline tour to visit those continents. Development The show was majorly inspired by movies and TV shows, primarily focused on Lost. Lewis said the jungle theme was inspired by the series, which was one of her favorites shows ever, so she thought it would be a good idea for a big concert, and was merged with a cannibal concept. The tour was described as a "wild trip into the jungle". Lewis also stated about the tour, "It would be incredible to see my fans walking out of the auditorium feeling like they had the most wild experience of their life. It's a really big and fun show, with a very elaborated concept and story." Kevin Tancharoen was chosen as the tour director. He said about the development of the tour, "Coming from a movie lovers' background, I wanted to make it seem like a film." The stage was more elaborate than her previous tour, Double the Trouble Tour, with a runway extended towards the audience. The setlist was mostly composed of songs from Continuum/Interrupted ("Stuck on the Wall'", "Bomb" and "I'm Not Sorry" being the only songs of the album to not be on the tour). Other songs included were "Irresistible" and "Screwed" from Sexy Sweet Thing (2007). The promotional photos for the tour were by William Baker. Concert synopsis The show begins with the stage all in red and an extended version of the "State Of Mind" instrumental playing, while Lewis and the dancers enter the stage acting like flight attendants. During the break of the song a backdrop appears on the screens showing a plane starting to fall, and at the same time Lewis and her dancers start acting in panic and are removed from the stage. The backdrop continues with a video of Lewis swimming in the sea. "Initiation" starts playing with Lewis sitting in part of the plane's wing and then the song goes into "My Desire", finishing the first act. "My Prerogative" starts playing and the dancers come back to the stage dressed as natives from an island and then Lewis is taken by them. She then reappears dressed in an animalistic suit, featuring a lion's head headpiece. Lewis changes her outfit again, while the dancers perform "Want It", and then she comes back to sing "The Best". The story continues with "I Feed You My Love", in which Lewis invites one of her fans to the stage to play her prey, while she simulates a sacrifice ritual. "Feline" is performed following the story of her coming out of a big plant and then persuading a dancer into it to be eaten. The second act ends with a performance of "Slave", where she is taken to be burned. The third act starts with "Shiver" and Lewis performing it in something that looks like a cocoon. She then takes off her robe and performs "On the Stereo", closing this part of the show. "Breathe Me" is performed with Lewis sitting in the highs while her dancers perform dramatically. She goes back to the ground and starts singing "Left Too Late". The show continues with another suit change for the performance of "Wake Me Up", with no dancers participating. The fourth act is closed with a performance of "The Answer", with Lewis accompanied by her band's guitarist. The fifth act of the show starts with the stage illuminated by black lights. Lewis and her dancers come to the stage wearing clothes equipped with neon lights and perform "Love Me" and "You Spin Me Round". The Encore of the show being with "Irresistible", and then Lewis performs "Screwed" alone to end the concert. Reception Critical response The tour received generally positive reviews from critics. Critics called it a "special-effects extravaganza" and said that "show is a theatrical extravaganza, complete with a jungle-themed stage, sexy dancers, fancy costumes and extravagant set pieces and its all fabulously wild". Some critics, however, said that "her show was more a theater spectacle than an actual concert, with the staging equal parts Lost sic. At times the show seemed more like a cinematic tribute to Ms. Lewis than a concert by Ms. Lewis herself". Commercial performance Tickets sold faster than her previous tours. This was attributed to her long absence from the public eye to go to the monastery. A month before the tour began, most US dates were already sold out. The tour ended up grossing $137 million. Broadcast and recordings On January 12, 2015, Lewis announced through her Twitter account that the London shows at the O2 Arena would be taped to air on HBO, and for release on DVD. Within minutes of her announcement, traffic to HBO social sites doubled and Natasha Lewis became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. The HBO broadcasting of the show scheduled for July 30, 2016, but it was canceled last minute, as well as the DVD release. The cancelation was due to legal issues with her old label because of some of her older songs performed on the show. The DVD and Blu-ray were finally released worldwide on November 23, 2018, along with her first compilation album The Iconic Collection. Setlist Act 1: Fasten Seat Belts * 1. State Of Mind * 2. Initiation * 3. My Desire Act 2: Welcome to the Jungle * 4. My Prerogative * 5. The Best * 6. I Feed You My Love * 7. Feline * 8. Slave Act 3: Metamorphosis * 9. Shiver * 10. On The Stereo Act 4: Queen of the Wild * 11. Breathe Me * 12. Left Too Late * 13. Wake Me Up * 14. The Answer Act 5: Neon Jungle * 15. Love Me * 16. You Spin Me Round Encore * 17. Irresistible * 18. Screwed